E3G

Delivering Climate Security: International Security Responses to a Climate Changed World

By Nick Mabey

Conclusion

The world has the financial resources and technological potential to deliver a secure and low-carbon economy. The question is whether we are capable of making the political choices to mobilise these resources in pursuit of our collective climate security. Security issues are fundamental for making the political case for urgent action. Security sector reform will be central to managing the consequences of the changes we are already undergoing. Security actors have a strong interest in ensuring a bold and rapid transformation to a secure and low-carbon economy, as this will also reduce tensions over access to dwindling fossil fuel reserves.

The changing security context driven by climate change requires an imaginative and forthright response from security actors if we are to preserve our vital interests and values in this century. The first signs of this response are emerging, but the necessary changes will need to happen much faster than in the past if they are to match the remorseless ecological timetable of a changing climate driven by a dynamic global economy.